Baby and mum mauled by bear outside school - teachers pull blinds to shield kids

20 January 2023 , 09:15

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Summer Myomick, 24, and her one-year-old child Clyde were tragically killed by the lurking bear (Image: Gofundme)

A young mum and her baby were mauled to death by a polar bear as they walked near an Alaskan school - the first such fatal attack in 30 years.

Summer Myomick had bundled her son against the freezing winds whipping off the Bering Sea and stepped outside into a blur of blowing snow.

It was a short walk from the school where she had visited relatives at the health clinic about 150 yards away.

The 24-year-old could hardly see where she was going nor the terror that was approaching.

Myomick and one-year-old Clyde Ongtowasruk made it just beyond the front of the Kingikmiut School in Wales, just below the Arctic Circle when the polar bear emerged and mauled them on Tuesday afternoon.

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The polar bear began chasing others, forcing the headteacher to slam the door in its face (Facebook)

State troopers confirmed the low visibility likely led to the attack (Facebook)

As the attack unfolded, the headteacher ordered a lockdown and closed the blinds so the children inside couldn’t see what was happening outside the entrance.

Several employees and community members left the safety of the building and tried to scare away the bear with shovels.

The mauling stopped temporarily, but only when the beast turned on them, and they rushed back inside.

Principal Dawn Hendrickson slammed the door in the face of the charging bear, possibly saving lives, according to Susan Nedza, chief administrator of the Bering Strait School District.

"Just horrific," Nedza said (AFP via Getty Images)

“The polar bear was chasing them and tried to get in as well,” said Nedza.
“Just horrific. Something you never think you would ever experience.”

There is no law enforcement in Wales, so with the bear still outside, a call went out to community members for help. A local showed up with a gun and killed the bear as it continued to maul Myomick and her son.

It appears the mother and toddler had no idea what was coming because of low visibility, Alaska State Troopers spokesperson Austin McDaniel said.

Wales, a whaling community, is the westernmost point on the North American mainland — just 50 miles from Russia across the Bering Strait — and is home to about 150 people, almost all of them Inupiat.

Alaska scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey in 2019 found changes in sea ice habitat had coincided with evidence that polar bears’ use of land was increasing and that the chances of a polar bear encounter had risen.

The tiny and remote village of Wales experienced the devastating attack (AP/REX/Shutterstock)

The World Wildlife Fund said: "Polar bears’ powerful sense of smell attracts them to human waste, stored food, dog teams, and animal carcasses—bringing them into greater conflict with Arctic people.

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"Throughout the polar bear’s range, attacks on humans and property continue to rise. In recent years, more than 20 direct attacks on humans have been reported within the polar bear’s range."

Male polar bears can weigh anywhere from 270 and 540kg, while females weight between weigh 180 and 320kg.

Christopher Bucktin